A 2018 meta analysis [1] found 5 studies with 122 participants receiving treatment with fenugreek (Trigonella foenum-graecum). Four of these studies found fenugreek significantly increased the amount of breast milk production.
A 2018 study [2] with 64 breastfeeding mothers with premature babies found nettle tea (Urtica dioica) increased breast milk production by 50% relative to the control group. A 2018 study [3] found that fennel and fenugreek were equally effective in increasing lactation.
Aniseed (Pimpinella anisum) contains anethole- a phytoestrogen that has a very long history of being used as a galactagogue (a food or drug that promotes or increases the flow of a mother's milk) in Persian traditional medicine [4]. Caraway seeds (Carum carvi) have been used in Persian traditional medicine to stimulate breast milk at low doses. We use a small amount of caraway seeds as some research suggests that it increases breast milk production if a small amount is taken but has the opposite effect at very high doses [5].
1. Khan T., Wu D.B.C., Dolzhenko, Effectiveness of fenugreek as a galactagogue: A network meta-analysis. Phytother Res 2018 Mar;32(3):402-412. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5972. Epub 2017 Nov 30. [PubMed]
2. Ozalkaya E., Aslandogdu Z., Ozkoral A., Topcuoglu S., Effect of a galactagogue herbal tea on breast milk production and prolactin secretion by mothers of preterm babies. January 2018. Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice 21(1):38-42. DOI:10.4103/1119-3077.224788 [Google Scholar] [PubMed]
3. Mathew A.T., Chhugani M., Gupta S.R., A Randomised Controlled Trial to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Fenugreek (Methi) Versus Fennel (Saunf) on Lactation among Lactating Women in a Selected Community of New Delhi. International Journal of Nursing Education. Apr-Jun 2018, Vol. 10 Issue 2, p1-6. 6p. [Google Scholar]
4. Javan R., Javadi B., Feyzabadi Z., Breastfeeding: A Review of Its Physiology and Galactogogue Plants in View of Traditional Persian Medicine. Breastfeed Med. 2017 Sep;12(7):401-409. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2017.0038. Epub 2017 Jul 17. [PubMed]
5. Bethesda, Caraway, Drugs and Lactation Database (LactMed), National Library of Medicine 2006. [NCBI]
